gregoire



F eb. 28, 1956 J. P. GREGOIRE 2,736,048

MOTOR DRIVEN BRUSH "r -v l Filed sept. 5, 1955 yJOSEPH P. GREGOIRE2 INVENTOR.

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ATTORNEY.

United States Patent Oiiice 2,736,048 Patented Feb. 28, 1956 MOTOR DRIVEN BRUSH Joseph P. Gregoire, Sherman Oaks, Calif.

Application September 3, 1953, Serial No. 378,387

1 Claim. (Cl. 15-28) The invention relates to a motor driven brush suitable for use as a tooth brush or for other uses, wherein the brush is driven at slow speed by a small motor housed in a handle so that the brush device can be held in the hand.

While brushes of this type have been proposed, they are usually rather complicated in construction, and in some cases do not provide for ready replacement of the brush.

An object of the present invention is to simplify the construction of the motor driven brush device so that the assembly of the parts into a completed unit is facilitated. This is accomplished by molding the brush arm and its head in one piece and with two cavities, one of which serves as the gear chamber and the other as a bearing bore for the brush, the brush having thereon a spindle which is removably held in position by a snap coupling. In one form of the invention the head of the brush armiy is provided with a depression to expose the brush spindle so that pressure can be applied to it to remove the brush.

A further feature relates to an improved snap-on coupling for the brush.

For further details of the invention, reference may be made to the drawings wherein Fig. l is a side View elevation, partly in section, of a motor driven brush according to the present invention.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged vertical sectional view of the brush of Fig. l, with parts broken away.

Figs. 3 and 4 are sectional views on lines of the corresponding numbers in Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged sectional view o-n line 5 5 of Fig. 1.

The views in Figs. 3, 4, and 5 are in the direction of the respective arrows.

Referring in detail to the drawings, the motor driven brush 1 comprises a handle 2 having an arm 3 which terminates in a head 4 for the rotary brush 5. The handle 2 houses a small slow speed electric motor 6 or motor and yreduction gear, the motor having a cord not shown. The handle 2 has a square socket 7 for the square reduced neck 8 on the inner end 9 of the arm 3. The motor 6 has a driven shaft 10 having a tongue 11 which slips into the groove 12 on shaft 13 which rotates in the cylindrical bearing bore 14 in arm 3. Shafts 10 and 13 may be coupled or uncoupled by inserting neck 8 into or removing it from socket 7. The square or non-circular contour of socket 7 and neck 8 prevent relative rotation of handle 2 and arm 3. The neck 8 is removably held in socket 7 by a spring pressed ball 15 in the handle 2 and which engages a depression 16 in the neck 8.

The arm 3 and its head 4 may be molded in one piece with two cavities, in addition to bearing bore 14, one of these cavities forming a gear chamber 17 and the other forming a bearing bore 18. Bearing bore 18 rotatably supports the shaft 26 of the brush 5, both this bearing bore 18 and shaft 26 extending transversely of and on opposite sides of the shaft 13. The gear chamber 17 has a conical portion 19 to house the driving gear 7() 20 and merging with the chamber portion 19 and at right angles to it is a conical chamber portion 21 for the head 22 of brush 5. The head 22 in Fig. 2 has the driven gear 23 on it. The bearing bore 18 at its inner end opens into the gear chamber portion 21 and its outer end has a depression 24 to expose the outer end 25 of the brush spindle 26. As shown in Fig. 4, the spindle 26 has a snap coupling in the form of a recess 27 for a U-shaped snap pin 28 mounted in a cavity 29 around the bearing bore 18. The snap pin 28 thus lies wholly within the boundary of cavity 29 and is concealed within the head 4.

The assembly of the parts shown in Fig. 2 is facilitated as few operations are required. First the driving gear 20 is moved edgewise or transversely of its axis through the lower or open end of gear chamber 17 into position in its chamber 19 oppositer shaft 13 and shaft 13 is inserted into arm 3 and its outer end is coupled to gear 20, either with screw threads not shown or with cement, as both shaft 13 and gear 20 may be of plastic material. Then the snap pin 28 is inserted in its groove 29, and the assembly is complete. The brush 5, o-r another one similar to it may be inserted and removed at will in the head 4, the brush head 22 and its gear 23 being insertible into position through thersame open or lower end of gear chamber 17 through which gear 20 was edgewise moved into position for assembly on its shaft 13. The unitary or one-p-iece head 4 thus has two bearing bores at right angles to each other, one for each shaft 13 and 26, and it has one gear chamber 17 which serves for assembling the drive gear 20 into position on its shaft 13 and for insertion and removal of brush head 22 and its gear 23 for removable engagement with the snap pin 28 arranged in the bearing bore of shaft 26.

Various modifications may be made in the invention without departing from the spirit of the following claim.

I claim:

In a motor driven tooth brush, an arm terminating in a head, said arm and head comprising a single piece of material, said head having a gear chamber, said arm having a shaft, a gear in said chamber for said shaft, said head having a bearing bore opening into said gear chamber, said bearing bore extending transversely of and to opposite sides of said shaft, a brush having a head having a spindle thereon rotatable in said bore, said brush head having a cooperating gear thereon fitting in said gear chamber, said head having a cavity opening into said bore, a snap pin concealed in said cavity and a co operating groove on said spindle for removably supporting said brush in said head with said gears in engagement, said gear chamber having an opening at one side of said head, said first mentioned gear being movable edgewise through said opening into position opposite said shaft for assembly thereon, said brush head being insertible into and removable from said opening for coupling its said spindle with or uncoupling the same from said snap pin.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,922,238 Freed Aug. 15, 1933 2,093,007 Chott Sept. 14, 1937 2,124,145 Merkel July 19, 1938 2,140,307 Belaschk et al. Dec. 13, 1938 2,275,247 Cavanagh Mar. 3, 1942 2,278,095 Rogers Mar. 31, 1942 2,279,982 Glynn Apr. 14, 1942 2,317,314 Haaften Apr. 20, 1943 2,474,360 Jimerson June 28, 1949 2,598,275 Lakin May 27, 1952 2,655,676 Grover Oct. 20, 1953 2,672,634 Burnham Mar. 23, 1954 FOREIGN PATENTS 452,961 Great Britain Sept. 2, 1936 987,083 France Apr. 1l, 1951 

